It is the beginning of a new year; new goals are on our minds. Hopefully, you already have put into action some of those goals. Before you know it, the year will be coming to an end again, so let’s make sure the goal of growing your architecture business will be successful.
Determining the goals was the easy part. What do you do as a leader in the architecture industry to ensure these goals are met?
Related Post: How To Get More Architecture RFPs
Researching through reading blogs, sharing information among coworkers and other architects in your area is a good way to start off in the right direction - that is, if your goal is to grow your architecture business.
Marketing Audit
Don’t fret at the word audit!
We are not talking about the deep search through records, numbers, and every little detail.
This is a simple analysis of your marketing strategy and what it consists of. If you don’t have one, creating one is the first step to help grow your architecture business. If you do have one, GREAT!
Look at what your marketing strategies are and how they are being implemented.
Performing a marketing audit is simply analyzing what you have in place for marketing, what the results of that strategy are, and what the financial outcome is.
Look at the marketing audit like an employee evaluation. You evaluate your employee to make sure they are achieving the goals set for them and your business.
It is important to look at your marketing strategy the same way. It is designed to work for you and your business.
You evaluate regularly to ensure money is well-spent on your employee, so why would you not do the same when looking at your marketing strategies?
A great marketing strategy has the power to grow your business just as a great employee has the power to do the same.
Identify Your Target Audience
Who do you want to attract? Who is that “ideal” client?
In other words, what is your target audience, or persona, you are searching for?
Just as a client chooses you for handling the building of the dream home or new office space they have envisioned, you have an idea of what type of clients you want to attract.
There is no rule in the world of business that says you have to accept every job/client that you come across.
Look at what you and your employees specialize in. What skills really set you apart from the other architecture businesses in your area. Focusing on those skills will present you as the expert.
This is key to stand out and bring in those ideal clients.
No Money - No Go
If an employee is not making you money and not doing the work needed, it is time to replace them or fine-tune their weakness.
You should do the exact same thing in marketing. If it is not working and making you money, it needs to go!
You don’t want to continuously attempt the same efforts only to keep getting the same result. This will not grow your architecture business at all.
After you have have completed your audit and identified your ideal client, the next step is to see how you are attracting these clients.
If you are sitting and waiting for people to walk in the door, you are limiting your ability to grow.
Correct your areas of weakness with strategies such as sharing blogs, sending emails to prospective clients, and being active in social media, and you’ll start attracting more clients and landing more RFPs.
Be ACTIVE! Get out there and get noticed.
When The Plan Works - Work It
Hopefully, after looking at your analysis and finding the areas that don’t work, you have also found areas that are working for you.
If there are parts of your marketing strategy that are working, but not to full potential, consider revising them. Find areas for improvement and evaluate again at a later date.
When you locate the strategies in your marketing that are performing the way you had intended, keep them in your back pocket.
There is no need to change them; the goal is not to waste time reconstructing the wheel!
Keep monitoring the success of what architecture marketing strategies are working currently.
This will save you time and money later if that particular strategy starts to weaken. You will notice it early, allowing for the opportunity to fine-tune that part of your strategy accordingly.
“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Now that you have gone through the tips on how to grow your architecture business, you have increased your knowledge in an important area of business planning. Start implementing these tips and generate more leads at increasing speeds.
If you didn’t have a marketing strategy when you started, take these tips and get one started now. You have the tools right here and the confidence to arrange your plan of attack!
